1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to seat supports or pedestals for fishing boats, and in particular to an offset stanchion which permits free movement of the seat to any position along a circle about a central axis.
2. Background of the Invention
Sport fishing boats normally have a cockpit which is so big that the fishing line touches the side of the boat. Numerous proposals have been made to facilitate the fisherman's ability to move about the deck to avoid such contact. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,649, a boat adjustable seat apparatus is disclosed which is provided with an offset from a pedestal fastened to the fishing boat deck. The seat is mounted on a frame which is provided at the bottom thereof with a wheel. The frame and, therefore, the seat is movable in a horizontal plane by rolling the frame on the wheel. However, the seat apparatus disclosed in this patent requires that the frame roll along the deck floor. Such contact with the deck floor limits the possible positions of the seat since the deck floor may itself be small or there may be obstacles on the deck floor which are in path of movement of the frame supporting the seat.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,620,686, a sport fishing chair is disclosed which includes an articulated seat pedestal having arms which are pivotally connected to each other and which may be gear-driven to achieve variable radius movements of the seat. By varying the arm lengths and gear ratios, the pedestal may be selected to conform to the dimensions of the fishing boat. However, the sport fishing chair of this patent is complicated in construction and expensive to manufacture. Furthermore, because of the gear linkages and chain drive that are used, the lower arm rotates simultaneously, but in opposite directions to the upper arm, rendering the chair complicated and inconvenient to use for rapid changes in position of the chair. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,839,757, a fishing boat seat is disclosed wherein the seat is mounted on linkages for movement between a first lower running position and a second elevated fishing position. However, it is not possible with this seat to move to different positions on the deck while in an elevated or raised fishing position Similarly, an adjustable boat seat pedestal is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,566,734 wherein a pedestal for mounting a boat seat selectively positions the seat in a centrally located, elevated position or an offset, lowered position, since it is preferable, when fishing from an open boat, for the fisherman to be seated on the centerline of the boat for stability, and at an elevated position for optimum visibility and maneuverability of the fishing gear.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,740,599, a stabilized seat is disclosed for aircraft wherein the axis of the seat is substantially coincident with the axis of the pivot on which the seat is mounted. The seat is mounted on a post which extends below the floor of the aircraft crew compartment, and a reversible motor and a telescoping jack screw is provided for lowering and raising the pilot seat for adjusting the height of the pilot during landing or taxiing to give a better view of the ground.
A multi-swivel chair is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,361 which includes a support base, the center of the base having a vertical axle supporting a first support arm. The first support arm includes a pivot supporting a second support arm which includes a support fixture for a chair body. The entire structure is mounted on a rectangular base. While the chair is capable of rotating 360 degrees horizontally about the central axis of the chair, a circular floor pad is used upon which the chair structure is mounted, and there is no teaching or suggestion that the chair can be fixedly mounted to a deck floor of a boat. Additionally, the rather large floor pad provided for stability may be difficult to use on a small fishing craft because of the very small deck space available on such fishing crafts. The articulated levers or arms to provide the required eccentricities renders the chair unnecessarily complex in construction and costly to make. In U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,787,315; 4,234,989; 4,425,863 and 4,567,845, different convertible seats are disclosed which do not provide any lateral movements of the seats from their primary axes or mounting pedestals. In the aforementioned Pat. No. 4,567,845, a sleeve is disclosed which is mounted below the deck floor of the boat, which sleeve is adapted to receive a pedestal of the chair, which is removably mounted.